Alan Doyle’s Rough Side Tour Had Them Dancing In The Isles In Kingston

Alan Doyle has come a long way from his roots in Petty Harbour, playing in bars on Water Street in St Johns, Newfoundland. Most of us first saw Alan as a member of popular Celtic Rock band Great Big Sea where he played for 20 years before they called it a day. He transitioned from Great Big Sea to his own solo career and now tours with his band The Beautiful Beautiful Band.

Since the Great Big Sea days, Alan has released 5 solo albums with his most recent being an EP called Back To The Harbour. It features three new songs and three new versions of traditional Newfoundland classics in honour of his love for the folk songs he grew up singing.

From the moment he came onstage to the very last song, Alan and The Beautiful Beautiful band as he calls them grabbed the audience and never let go. He has a presence onstage that makes you feel like you know him. He’s just an old friend singing songs, as if at a giant kitchen party in the theatre.

Throughout the evening, Doyle had the full house at the Grand Theatre standing, singing and clapping along with all sorts of crowd favourites from the Great Big Sea days like Paddy Murphy, End Of The World and When I’m Up. There were other more poignant moments like when he sang Laying Down To Parish, a ballad from Fogo Newfoundland about a group of fishermen lost to the sea on an ice flow.

At another point, Alan sat down with Todd Lumley at the piano fora traditional Newfoundland folk song,  I Am A Sailor before being joined by Kendel Carson on Violin and Corey Tetford on guitar for Back Home On The Island .

During the evening, Alan entertained like the pro he is. His energy onstage is contagious and the crowd spent a good portion of the night on their feet, often singing or clapping along. There were party songs, ballads and even a rocking cover of John Mellencamp’s Paper And Fire.  One thing is for sure, not a single person seemed to mind the two year wait for this show that had been postponed at least a couple of times due to ……you know.

The show was opened by the very talented Kelly Prescott who was born with music running through her veins. Her parents both have successful careers in music and her grandfather was also a well-known musician. Kelly played a short but great set featuring some of her new music including her newest single Trailer Trashed. Her latest Album “Love Wins” has brought her some prestigious award nominations and I suspect more will be coming her way in the future.  I was impressed by Kelly’s beautiful and soulful voice and can’t wait to catch her onstage again when she will be touring with Dallas Smith next summer.

For more information Check out the official websites;    Alan Doyle and Kelly Prescott

Some more Photos………..